Ebay LP sellers kill me...

So, in my quest to get a decent mono copy of Nancy in London by Nancy Sinatra, I bought a $5 copy on Ebay that was described as "From Dad's collection. Dusty cover, but record is clean as a whistle."

Now, obviously when you buy an LP from someone who doens't even use a grading system, buyer beware. I wasn't expecting a mint copy or even close. But now people don't understand the frigging English language? Is it too much to ask that people understand their own native language? "Clean as a whistle" means very clean. Predictably, aside from numerous scratches, the LP I got isn't even clean, gunk, smudges, dust spots, fingerprints etc. If this is "clean as a whistle" I would hate to see this person's dishes or stand near them probably...

Sigh.

btw if anyone has tips on getting good pictures of LPs that show the flaws, let me know. Didn;t work good in my office using phone camera.

 

"Clean as a pizza plate - nice vintage cover"

 

I have completely quit buying anything off eBay for the same reason. I have won auctions for near mint, no scratches, beautiful records that only show up at my door as so scratched that I can't even play them and when I would mention it to the seller they would get very defensive. Just not worth it, I much prefer to pay a few extra dollars and buy from local shops where I can hold the record in my hand first.

 

occasionally you get a correctly graded item or a surprise, but it's getting rare. For example I got a farily inexpensive copy of Hawkwind's first LP (I think, the s/t one anyway, I'm not an expert on them). It was listed as G+ but looks like it is going to cleanup and play just fine, assuming no invisible groove damage. I've been using discogs more these days for used stuff, because I think more of the sellers are at least trying to grade correctly.

 

Did you contact the seller?

 

Yeah, haven't heard back yet. Not too worried about it really, only $8 total or whatevs. I did send them a link pointing to the goldmine grading stuff.

 

I've been more pleased with grading from sellers on Discogs, but there are a good few there who are economical with the truth. Nothing beats looking at the item itself in a shop before buying - long live the used vinyl stores!

 

no doubt, in person is the best, not always possible though

 

There are some reliable sellers, but they are usually getting top dollar for what they list. I have implemented a few simple rules for buying on ebay:
1. 98-100% feedback rating on 200 or more sales.
2. Seller must accept returns within 14 days.
3. For record lots, every record in the lot must be graded, not just listed as a range.

A big plus is if the Seller is willing to provide deadwax info when I request it. I have passed some possibly nice albums when the Seller has refused to do that. I had one Seller refuse to provide even a catalog number saying his eyes were too bad to read it. If you can't read that, how can I trust your grading!

 

I always figured the phrase "clean as a whistle" meant covered in old spit. Really, when your dealing with someone who owns a store or has years of experience they can be wrong or disagreeable but at least you are talking the same language. A lot of regular folk don't register condition at all. You can't see what you're not looking for. The phrase "Dad's collection" is a red flag.

It's nice having Amoeba, well, Berkeley Amoeba, and Rasputin nearby. All I'm even looking for right now is nice Rush Hemispheres and they come in but are not flat enough. I'm not going to get into it with an ebay seller on how flat it is.

 

Whistles seem like a pretty dirty item, anyway.

 

I don't even bother with used crap on eBay any more. OTOH, I still use Amazon sellers, although the grading system is just as full of BS as eBay. At least through Amazon, I can usually get the seller to pay shipping in both directions is there is a problem, thanks to Amazon's policies. There is absolutely no protection with eBay, even with their "buyers protection program" which is an absolute joke.

 

To reiterate.

 

I had great luck with ebay buyer protection.

I bought a "mint" Beatles blue box. Pictures didn't show the mold and water damage on all the album covers. The seller said buyer beware.. And no returns. So I filed a claim with ebay. Two days later I had a full refund.

Buyer protection worked for me!

 

There are huge differences between all of us in how we perceive and how we describe. The change in sound is subtle/the change in sound is enormous. The kitchen is clean/the kitchen is filthy. The LP is not covered in spaghetti sauce so it's clean as a whistle.

I really scrutinize items on ebay. I examine the cover closely to see any stickers or whatever that may not be described. If the image is not high resolution enough I pass. If the descriptions not clear I pass. I want to see familiar grading definitions, not words like great, awesome or rockin' condition. If i don't see grading that suggest this person knows LPs I pass. If there is anything suspicious about the text or feedback I pass. I usually watch an item for a few days to look at it at different times. Frequently I find something that makes me pass.

My screening procedure hasn't worked every time, but I'm generally pretty happy with the condition of the LPs I receive.

 

I collect Anita Bryant vinyl and as most of you probably know she made some kiddie records for Disney. The little Orange Bird? Of course kiddie records are the hardest to find in good condition. One ebay seller listed one of these as, I quote "perfect condition with no scrathes". Silly me, I assumed that scrathes was just a typo. Well, the record I received did not have any "scrathes" as far as I can tell but it did have both scratches and gouges aplenty. It was the perfect condition to be used as a dog's chew toy and evidently served in this capacity before. On top of this the nutjob was quite hostile when I asked for a refund. I did eventually get one.

 

I check out the seller before bidding on eBay. If they don't have experience selling vinyl I contact them and coach them/ask questions. Investigate before you buy. Most whistles aren't clean.

 

I love the "near mint" covers that have glaring ringwear in the pictures. Or how about the dolts that lay the records on their kitchen floors to photograph?

 

I feel your pain... I found a copy of the Velvet Underground Live 1969 2xLP at a shop in Costa Mesa, CA, for $15, marked SUPER CLEAN. A quick inspection revealed it to have fingerprints and dirt as well as scuffs and scratches. I fail to see how that can be considered "super clean." Or even "somewhat clean." (I didn't buy it!)

And, yeah, don't deal with sellers who don't use the Goldmine standards.

 

I've had pretty good luck with discogs and Amazon too, but I'm staying away from ebay. In general I'd much rather buy local. I love the idea of the hunt - of making the rounds to the ton of record stores here in L.A. and finding something I'd been looking for or didn't even know I needed (like Brian Eno's Discreet Sound which I just found down the street). I prefer to support local stores, but sometimes I just gotta get what I want and I'm willing to take a risk.

 

80% of sellers don't have turntables and probably grade them in poor light. There's a record fair in Melbourne that's so dark you have to ask the seller to take them outside to check the condition.

 

Might try shining a bright LED flashlight on the vinyl at an angle. The scratches should light right up.

I echo the comments of those who buy only with great caution on eBay--I do it because the local record scene where I live is miniscule.

I typically do the following to avoid getting burned.
1. Look for outstanding feedback-- 99.7% or higher, especially if it's an expensive item.
2. Look for a 14-day return policy
3. Read the seller's feedback (especially the negative and neutral feedback) and star ratings--especially "item as described"
4. Ask the seller if the're willing to play grade the item. Many will upon request.
5. Buy using Paypal and file a claim through Paypal (not eBay per se) if the seller doesn't offer you a full refund. If the item is less than $200, you'll get your money back as long as you send the tracking number to Paypal and it's shown as delivered back to the seller's address. I think its important to do so on principle so sellers get the message that they can't lie to unsuspecting buyers and get away with it. I recently got a $150 refund using this process. Thus far, I've only had to pay return shipping for items I wasn't happy with.

 

I'm not real sure how #2 comes into play, since all you have to do is start the resolution process with either ebay or paypal, whether a seller accepts returns or not.


This is from a seller that I bought a record from a few months ago - you do get schmucks on the buyer side of the coin, believe me. The record I got from him was terrific, by the way.


{PLEASE READ!

OK, nitty gritty info:

If you are unhappy with your item, you may send it back. If this is due to a mistake I made in grading, I will happily refund shipping. If that is not the case, I will not refund shipping.

One guy recently didn't like the mix on a recording (the vocal wasn't mixed loud enough), and was furious with me for not refunding shipping. Another guy recently actually demanded $1.50 back. These were both for $10 items, which are barely worth the time to list, let alone deal with stuff like that.

If you are the type of person who gets angry over less than the price of a cup of coffee, please do us both a favor and find this item elsewhere. If you see the grade is not NM but still expect to receive a NM item, please find this item elsewhere. I do truly enjoy dealing with the sane and friendly.

I don't make money from shipping... But Ebay does! They take a percentage of what you pay me for shipping. So, I must charge more than shipping actually costs in order to break even.}

 

Wouldn't have been more effective to help resolve the issue by contacting the seller, rather than venting @ SHF?

 

I think he did try to contact the seller.